Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon says his staff has made great strides during his first 100 days in office.
Democrats backed defense attorney Lee Kindlon over five-term Albany County District Attorney David Soares in the 2024 primary. Kindlon defeated Soares in the primary and again in November, as Soares ran as a write-in candidate.
Kindlon promised to "hit the ground running" when he began his four-year term, and he says he has already made a series of office modifications and improvements.
Kindlon says he has uncovered delinquent grants, streamlined internal processes, and bolstered efforts to improve public safety.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday at his downtown Albany office, Kindlon noted that he's created and staffed two new bureaus, Restorative Justice… "Now this is an entire bureau dedicated to figuring out how we get people out of the criminal justice system," said Kindlon. "How we can get people away from criminal convictions and help them get back to a good spot in their life." …and Street Crimes. "Now street crimes used to be a bureau. We’ve established a bureau here in Albany County, and this gives us a community level perspective on crime here in Albany County," he said.
Kindlon says since January 1st, his office has opened 675 felony cases. He says over the past 100 days, he has sent 58 people to prison for gun possession.
"I grew up as a trial attorney in this town, and I can't let those skills go, so I will be prosecuting. I'll be the lead prosecutor on the Dewitt Miller case that's coming up for trial later this year. That's first homicide in Albany. Happened in January," said Kindlon, who praised several of his staffers for their assistance, crediting his Chief Ethics Counsel, Pat Collins, with help following through on a campaign promise to audit the DA's office.
"Pat found almost a million dollars in funds that we now have access to that were unaccounted," Kindlon said. "For grant money. Now this is money that was basically just sitting on a shelf that we were able to finally take control of grants that have been languishing and unaccounted for, and other grants totaling more than $300,000 we now have access to. More than a million dollars that we can use for this office now that is on top of, or in addition to a brand new grant that we got from the state to combat domestic violence in the city of Albany. That's going to allow me to hire more prosecutors. It's going to allow us to hire more crime victim advocates."
Kindlon says he has also ordered a full independent audit of the office’s finances to ensure improved fiduciary responsibility.
"The past 100 days have been the most rewarding of my professional career, the ability to work with some of the finest men and women, not just in the office, but throughout law enforcement. Albany County and the state has really brought into focus exactly why I got into this business the criminal justice system is that touch point between keeping people safe and safeguarding the Constitution," Kindlon said.
Soares, who said he was relocating to Atlanta after leaving office, could not be reached for comment.
Kindlon says in the next 100 days his office will be leading a renewed focus on organized retail crime with the establishment of a regional task force focused on large-scale retail theft in Colonie, Guilderland and Bethlehem he says often funds criminal activity in Albany.
